Apparatus for heat treatment of packaged goods



Sept. 7, 1937. A. R, THOMPSON APPARATUS FOR HEAT TRETMENT OF PACKAGEDGOODS Filed June 28, 1935 2 ShetS-Sheet 1 -Lahural S LS Sept-7, 1937. A.R. THoMPsoN 2,092,434

APPARATUS FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF PACKAGED GOODS Filed June 28, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.`

' hasta sept. 1h, 1931 v'2,092,434

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOB, HEAT TREATMENT 0F PACKAGEDGOODS Albert B. Thompson, San Jose, Calif., assignor to Food MachineryCorporation, San Jose, Calif.,. a corporation of Delaware Application:une 2s, 193s, serial No. 28,354 1o clam (c1. 12s-272) The presentinvention relates to the heat treatpre-heater. Moreover, during thetravel oi the ment of packaged goods such, for example, as can throughthe pre-heater, it must not pass` canned milk, and constitutes` animprovement through a region of localized high temperature over theinvention for which I have a co-pending such as exists in proximitytothe heating means,

5 application, Serial No. 22,414 illed May 20, 1935. as this would alsocause the objectionable fburn 5' In the milk canning art, it iscustomary to pass on by temporarily over-heating the] walls of the thefilled and sealed cans through a pre-heater can. In other words, theheating means should before their introduction into the cooker or sterbepositioned as remote from the can path as ilizer. In the pre-heater, thetemperature oi the possible. f

can and its contents is raised gradually so that The quality of theproduct will alsobe impaired 10 the increase in temperature upon entryinto the by too much agitation o! the cans during the precooker will notbe too sudden. The can, ,prior to heating process, `which results inseparation of its entrance into the pre-heater, is' at a temperathe milksolids, technically known as "grain". A ture of approximately 50 degreesFahrenheit. small amount of agitation, however, is desirable Thetemperature within that portion of the prein Order to insure evenheating. 15 heater into which the can is mst introduced In thehereinafter described apparatus for should be approximately 85 degreesF., and as the carrying out the present invention, I have procanprogresses through successive portions of the vided a pre-heater Ihavinga can path of sumpre-heater, its temperature is raised gradually tocient length to enable the entire pre-heating approximately 210 degreesF., the initial stages Process to be carried to completion and in which20 oi pre-heating being more rapid than the nal the can path traverses aplurality of regions of stages. In order to insure a product of thehighcontrollable increasing temperature, the initial est quality, it isessential that the temperature in portion of the can path lying in aregion of comthe various portions ot the pre-heater be conparativelyrapid increase in temperature, and the trolled with considerableaccuracy. Moreover, ilnal lportion of said path lying in a region in 25the temperatures must be adiusted from time to which the temperatureincreases at a much time to suit the characteristics of the particularslower rate, the control of the temperature in the milk which is beingrun. The duration of exposeveral regions being accomplished in a novelsure o1' the can to the various temperatures in the manner. I have alsoprovided a pre-heater in pre-heating process is also important, bestresults which the heating means are positioned as re- 30 being obtainedby raising the temperature oi' the f motely as possible from the canpath, so that no can comparatively rapidly in the initial stages ofportion of said path is subjected to unduly high the process, and thenholding it at or near the temperature, and in which excessive andundesirmaximum temperature for a considerable time able agitation of thecans is prevented.

during approximately the last half of its travel Although the inventionis herein illustrated 35 through the pre-heater. 'I'he initial increasein and described as especially adapted for the pretemperature, however,must not be too rapid. heating oi' canned milk, it is to be understoodthat The can must not be subjected, at any time, to the principles ofthe invention may be applied to a too rapid increase in temperature.Over-heatother purposes. It is also to be understood that 40 ing thewalls oi the can with relation to the temchanges, within the limits ofthe claims hereto 40 perature of the contained milk, by increasing theappended,'may be made in the manner of carryoutside temperature toorapidly, causes a condiing out the invention and in the form,construction known'in the art as burn on, in which a tion andarrangement of the several parts herein portion of the albumen in themilk is coagulated shown and described.

and deposited as a nlm on the inside of the can. "Ihe invention will nowbe described more in 45 In order to prevent this undesirable result,which detail h reference to the accompanying draw- .impairs the qualityoi the product, the initial ings, w ereinis shown a preferred form ofappatemperature in the input region of the pre-heater ratus for carryingout the invention, and in must n'ot be too high, the increase intemperature which:

during the rst stage of pre-heating, although Figure 1 is a partsectional side elevation of a 50 more rapid than during theffinalstagemust not complete machine adapted for pre-heating be too rapid, andthe temperature in the discanned products. .charge region must besuillciently high with rela- Figure 2 is 'a part sectional elevationalview of tion to the temperature of the cooker into which the input anddriving end of the machine of Flgi the can is introduced upon itsdischarge from the ure 1. A

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the discharge end of the machineshowing particularly the external steam pipe connections.

Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged end and sectional views, respectively, of arotaryy steam header which is one of the details of construction of themachine, the ,sectional view of Fig. 5 being taken along the line 5-5 ofFigure 4'.

Figure 6 is an elevational view of a steam iet which is one of thedetails of the machine.

Figure 7 illustrates another form of steam jet which is likewise aconstituent. element of the machine. Y

Figure 8 is a side elevation of one of the exterior gate adjustingmeans, said means having been omitted from Fig. 1 for the sake ofclearness.

Figure 9 is a transverse sectional detail, on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8,showing a portion of the sump in the bottom of the shell and one of theadjustable gates therein with its exterior adjusting means.

The principal parts of the structure illustrated comprise a water tightcylindrical steel shell or tank I, having at its input end a cam feeddevice designated as a whole by reference numeral 2,

and at its discharge end a can extractor 3; a

rotary can reel 4; a shaft 5 for said reel extending from end to end ofshell I and journalled in suitable bearings in the end plates thereof; ahelically trending can track 6 of T-shape cross section attached to andfollowing the, interior periphery of the shell I; steam pipes l, 8, 9and I for heating the water in the shell; a steam header II; steam jetsI2 and I3 for heating the water at the right hand end of the shell; adriving gear indicated at I9 for rotating the shaft and the reel 4; "anda series 4of exterior thermometers,l5 for indicating the temperatures'at various points within the shell.

The cylindrical shell I is provided with end plates I6 and Il, and isformed with a longitudinally disposed sump I8 at the bottom, onefunction of which is to provide a place for dirt and with said plates.

by means of rods 22; and equally spaced around their peripheries andattached to the spiders are a series of angle iron rails 23 which extendparallel to the axis of the reel. These rails are vspaced peripherallyto receive cans and they are located closely adjacent, radially, to thehelicaliy trending rT-iron track 6, according to common practise inmachines of this type.

. The stream of cans to be passed through the unit enters through thecam feed device 2 at the input end, travels in a helical path along thetrack 6 and emerges by way of the can extractor 3 at the discharge endof the unit. y

The unit illustrated is divided longitudinally into a. series of tenconsecutive compartments,

A to J, inclusive. These compartments are formed by means of circularimperforate transverse plates 24 which are built into the reel androtate therewith, and by transverse baiiles or gates 25 in the sump,which are vertically aligned lThe function of plates 24 and the gates 25is to restrict and adjustably control inter-compartment circr .ation ofwater, so that different temperatures-can be maintained in dif- .ferentportions of the shell traversed by the can path, in a manner to beexplained later.

The baiiles or gates 25 are secured to transverse rods 26 which arerotatably mounted in the sides of the sump, so that said gates can bemoved from vertical position in which they close the sump tolongitudinal ow of uid, to horizontal position in which such flow isfreely permitted. In order to adjust said gates from outside the shell,each rod 26 extends through a suitable packing gland 2l, Fig. 9, and isbent at right angles to form ahandle 28, which travels over a fixednotched quadrant 29 secured to the side of the sump I8 by a bracket 30,Figs. 8 and 9. The handles 28 and quadrants 29 have been omitted fromFig. 1, in order that the positions of the various gates 25 may be moreclearly indicated, but it is to be understood that each said gate isprovided with such means for adjusting it.

It will be observed that 'steam heating pipes 'i and 8 extend throughcompartments F, G, H, I and J, while steam heating pipes 9 and I0 extendonly through compartments H, I and J.A

tant features of this invention, since it avoids the formation of grainin the milk resulting from excessive agitation. Compartment J issupplied with steam by means of jets I2 and I3 which project through theend plates I6 from exterior pipe fittings I2a Aand I3a. These jets areillustrated in detail in Figs. 6 and 7 respectively. Both comprise shortlengths of pipe plugged at their ends, but jet I2 has a row ofperforations 3l along one side, While jet I3 is cut at the end at anangle of about 4,5 andthe plug therein provided with a. single aperture32. The aper tures in both jets I2 and I 3 are preferably so situatedthat the emerging steam will be directed toward the Vcenter of the shellto avoid agitation of the cans. As indicated in Fig. 3, there arepreferably two jets I2 and two jets 13, suitably spaced in the end platei5.

The steam pipes 8, 9 and I8 are carried by l the spiders 2l and plates2d of the reel and must of necessity communicate with the external steamsupply pipes4 through some connection which will permit the delivery ofsteam thereto during rotation. 'I'his is accomplished by means of thesteam header II, which is shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5. Thisdevice comprises a cast iron female member 33 and a cast iron malemember 36. Member 33 is stationary, -while member 34 is keyed to vandrotates -with shaft 5. The two members are correspondingly grooved toforin annular steam channels 35 and 36, one of which is in communicationwith steam `pipes 'I and 8 and the other in communication with steampipes 9 and. I 0, these pipes being threaded into the male member attapped openings 37, 38, 39 and 4B respectively. Steam supply pipes 4Iand 42 extend through end plate I6 and connect with steamchannels 35 and36 through tapped openings 43 and 44. respectively, in the header memberIl. Member Il is provided with'a packing groove 45 which contains apacking ring functioning as a .steam barricade between channels 55 and36 while permitting rotation of member 54.

Steam is supplied to the unit through a steam main 46, Fig. 3, in whichis preferably inserted an automatic regulator 41 in series with a shutoil valve 48. There is preferably provided a bypass around the automaticregulator including a valve 49. 'I'his permits the regulator to be cutout of the line in event of its failure without interruptlng theoperation of the unit. pipes 4l and 42 are provided with shut olf valves50 and 5|, respectively, and a shut oil! valve 52 is provided in thebranch pipe 53 leading to steam nozzles I2 and I3. 'I'hese valves permitmanual control of the steam delivered to the interior of the shell.

In the above described machine, steam is supplied directly to threecompartments only, compartment F receiving steam from pipes 'l and I,compartment -H from pipes 9 and III, and compartment J fromjets I2 and I3. compartments G and I receive sutllcient heat by conduction andthermal circulation of the water from the adjoining directly heatedcompartments so that the temperature throughout th'e entire region F toJ inclusive is approximately the same, or can, if

desired, be made to increase slightly from F to J b'y manipulating theseparate steam control valves 50, 5I and 52, and by adjusting the gates25 between said compartments. Compartments A to E inclusive, forming theirst half of the machine, receive heat by conduction from compartment F,and if necessary by circulation of water from the directly heatedcompartments, the tem- .perature of these initial compartments beingmade-to decrease consistently from E to A by proper .adjustment of thegates 25 between said initial compartments.' Thus the interior of themachine is provided with the desired range of temperature, lowest at thecan input end, increasing rapidly to about the center, and thenceholding or increasing slowly throughout the last half.v

In operation, the shell l is supplied with water, preferably to a levelabove that of the highest steam outlet. Connections are indicated at 54inFig. 1, through which water, either cold or hot, may be introducedinto and withdrawn from the l shell, and it may also be drawn ofithrough the drain connections 20. When the can path is filled with cans,as is normally the case in operation, there are restricted openingsaround the can path, between the periphery of the'reel and the helicaltrack, through which a limited ow of vwater can take place betweenadjacent compartments. When the gates 25 in the sump are open, althermal circulation is set up, the water rising in the directly heatedcompartments, passing through the restricted space around the can path,

vdescending in the cooler indirectly heated compartments, and returningto the directly heated compartments through the open sump. Such thermalcirculation, if allowed to continue any substantial length of time withall the gates 25 open, would equalize the temperatures in the sev- Ieralcompartments to an undesirable extent.

However, by properly adjusting the various gates as well as byselectively controlling the various steam supply valves, the desiredtemperature differentials can be maintained. If all the gatesare`closed, there will b e almost no thermal circulation or waterbetween compartments, and the indirectly heated compartments will beheated The steam branch almost entirely by conduction through the platesments.

It is to be understood that the longitudinal arrangement of the heatingmeans herein described is merely illustrative of the principle involved,and maybe varied as required by circumstances. The essential principles,however, are'that certain portionsof the can path are directly andselectively heated, and that other portions receive no direct heating,but are heated indirectly from those portions which are directly heated.The temperatures throughout the entire can path are indicated by thethermometers l5. In operation, these temperatures are under constantobservation, `and are regulated as desired by selective control of theseveral direct heating means, and the various gates 25. Thus in Fig. 1 Ihave shown the gate between compartments I and J fully open, the gatebetween compartments H and I partly open, and the gate betweencompartments G and H slightly open. 'Ifhis setting of the gates permitsthermal circulation of water between compartments G, H, I and J, andassists materially in maintaining even or slightly increasingtemperature throughoutthe latter part of the can path. The other gatesare all shown as closed,.

The position of the heating means near the axial region of the shell,remote from the can path, is important. It not only provides evendistribvution of heat, so that the cans are not subjected at any pointto such unduly high temperature as would cause objectionable burn on, aswould be the case if the heating means were proximate to one portion ofthe can path, but it also avoids undue agitation of the cans tending tocause undesirable grain" in the milk, as would ensue if they passed inproximity to the issuing steam jets, especially when said jets are underwater, since the issuing steam agitates the water for a considerabledistance. By positioning the jets in the axial region of the shell, anddirecting them inwardly, both excessively high temperature and agitationof the water are confined to a region remote from the 'can path.

It will be seen from the -foregoing description that the desiredtemperature differentials between the several compartments areaccomplished partly by the selective control oi the valves admittingsteam to the various directly heated compartments, and partly by settingup a controllable circulation of water between the directly heatedcompartments and the indirectly heated compartments. The controllableinter-compartment circulation is established by providing communicatingapertures between compartments bothA of it in others by contact with therelatively cool cans.

I claim:-

1. An apparatus for heat treating packaged goods comprising a shellhaving a plurality oi' communicating uid containing compartments Cil 'formed to permit inter-compartment circulationl of said fluid, means foradvancing the packages successively through said compartments, means forheating the fluid in one compartment to'induce said inter-compartmentcirculation, and means for adjustably controlling said circulation offluid between said compartments, whereby to control the transfer of heatfrom said heated compartment to other compartments.

2. An apparatus for heat treating 'packaged goods comprising a shellhaving a plurality of fluid containing compartments, said compartmentshaving communicating apertures positioned to permit inter-compartmentcirculation of said fluid, means for advancing the packages successivelythrough said compartments, means for heating one of said compartments toinduce said inter-compartment circulation, and means for varying thearea of said apertures to control said inter-compartment circulation offluid, whereby the transfer of heat from said heated compartment toother compartments may be controlled. y, A y

`3, An apparatus for heat treating packaged goods comprising a shellhaving a plurality of fluid containing compartments, means for advancingthe packages along a path extending successively through saidcompartments, said path providing a passage through which fluid may flowfrom one compartment to another, and said compartments having anothercommunicating aperture for passage of fluid, means for heating the fluidin one compartment to set up a circulation between it and anothercompartment through said passage and said aperture. and means forcontrolling said other aperture to adjust the rate of said circulationand thereby to control the transfer of heat between said compartments.

4. An "apparatus for heat treating packaged goods comprising a shellhaving a plurality of horizontally adjacent fluid containingcompartments, means for advancing the packages along a path extendingsuccessively through said compartments, said path providing a passagefor fluid communication between said compartments, a sump in the lowerportion of said shell communicating with said compartments and providinganf other passage for the flow of fluid therebetween, means for heatingthe fluid in one of saidcompartments to set up a circulation between itand another compartment, a gate in said sump,.and means for adjustingthe effective opening of said gate to control said circulation, wherebyto control the transfer of heat between said compartments.

' 5. An apparatus for heat treating packaged goods comprising a' shellhaving a'plurality of fluid `containing compartments, a helical trackextending successivelyV throughs said compartments, means for advancingthe packages along said track, means for heating the fluid in onecompartment to induce inter-compartment circulation of said fluid, saidheating means being positioned in the axial region of the helix of saidtrack, means outside said helix providing a passage for flow of fluidbetween said compartments, and means for adjustably controlling saidcirculation to control the transfer of heat between said compartments.

6. An apparatus for 4heat treatingpackaged goods comprising a shellhaving a plurality of communicating uid containing compartments, a trackfor the advance of packages extending through said compartments, meansremote from. said track for heating the fluid in one compartment, to.induce inter-compartment circulationv ofsaid fluid, and means forcontrollably adjusting said circulation to control the transfer of heatbetween said compartments.

'7. An apparatus for heat treating packaged goods comprising a shellhaving a plurality of communicating fluid containing compartments, meansfor advancing packages successively through said compartments, means fordirectly heating the fluid in some of said compartments, th number ofdirectly heated compartments being less than the total number ofcompartments, said heating of the iluid causing circulatory flow thereofbetween the directlyheated compartments and the other compartmentstending to equalize the temperature Aof the fluid ln al1 compartments,and means for varying the rate of said circulatory flow to control thetransfer of heat thereby.

8. An apparatus for heat treating packaged goods comprising a shellhaving a plurality of fluid containing compartments, the uid indifferent compartments being at different temperatures and saidcompartments having communicating apertures, whereby thermally inducedinter-compartment circulation of said fluid is set up, means forvariably controlling said circulation, and

means for advancing the goods to be treated successively through saidcompartments.

9. An apparatus for heat treating packaged goods comprising a shellhaving a pluralityv of horizontally adjacent fluid containingcompartments, means for advancing the packages along a pathA extendingsuccessively through said compartments, said path providing a passagethrough which fluid may flow from 'one compartment to another, a sump atthe lower portion of said shell providing another passage for fluid andin communication with each of said compartments, means for heating saidfluid in certain of said compartments whereby circulation thereofbetweenv said.. compartments through ,said passage and said sump iseffected, and means for controlling said circulation.

10. In an apparatus for the described purpose, a shell having aplurality of, fluid containing compartments, means for advancingpackages along a path extending successively through said compartments,said path providing a passage above the bottom of the shell v'for theflow of uid between said compartments, a sump extending along the bottomof said shell, each compartment opening into said sump, so that fluidm'ay flow from one compartment to another through said sump, a. movablegate in said sump, and means for varying the effective opening of saidgate to control the i ter-compartment flow of uid through said sulrgp)l

